Hello. I am new to the world of Oldsmobile and very excited about it. I have a 1983 t-type regal that I am rebuilding and have been on that board for a while also. Pretty much any older AMERICAN muscle or unique vehicle is what I'm in to.

I recently purchased a 1977 Olds Toronado. There not real popular yet so they're still inexpensive, but I have wanted one for a long time and I am thrilled. It sat in a garage for 30 years and then under a tree in a field for the last 3.5 years, so the bones are ok, but it was disgusting in and out. I have spent weeks buffing, buffing and also buffing as well as obviously changing all of the fluids refurbishing and repairing the damage that what ever had built a large nest on the manifold and trans had created.

I have it running strong and looking pretty good, however there is one issue that I cannot figure out. There is a sensor midway up on the passenger side of the radiator that has a single wire of about two feet that comes from it and goes under the battery tray and then just stops, and I cannot find where it came from. It is obviously the low coolant sensor, as that is the only light on the dash that is on (and dinging incessantly). There are no other unconnected wires so I assume it came from a connecter pack, but have no idea which one. Anyone know where I should reconnect this and stop the ringing in my head. Thanks again in advance for any help. Matt

 

hey Matt I have a 76 but no Low Coolant reminder, sorry. Welcome and would love to see pics.

 

Interesting, you might have to remove the battery or battery tray to trace that wire.

BTW, where in OK are you?

 

Welcome to our site!! We like pics!!!!

 

Actually the wire is totally loose at this point, it was just laying under the battery when I got the car, just two feet of wire connected to a sensor.

I am in historic Guthrie America. I'll try to get some pictures taken later today. I have it all detailed and it is sunny and sixty outside and I've been looking forward to taking it to OKC today for it's maiden voyage and also take some pics, but my daughter is home with a fever and wifes at work so that plan has fallen through

 

Welcome aboard

"Historic Guthrie"

I'll have to look that one up. Maybe thta's Arlo's home town.

Glad you decided to join us.

 

You can get anything you want at Alison's restaurant"!!!!

 

Welcome to CO. You are going to have a real hard time finding the other end of that wire, wherever it was broken/cut. A factory service manual would do wonders for that kind of repair work, color codes, wiring schematics, etc. Worth it's weight in gold, er...at least motor oil then.

 

Hope your daughter feels better soon.

I know where Guthrie is!

 

Matt: I'll be going up to my friend Ashley's repair shop tomorrow (Richardson, TX - Absolute Autowerks); he takes care of all our cars, and has a subscription to one of the technicial threads for car repair via updated CD's quarterly - includes wiring. I will see if he can get me a print out of the coolant temperature sensor printed out, and email to you when I get home. I have the same problem w/our '92 Custom Cruiser, and will be going up to have the sensor replaced. Welcome to CO, and a great bunch of fun loving, helpful people!
Aron

 

Hey everyone, thanks so much for your help already! I'm usually pretty good at tracking down gremlins in old cars, this one has me stumped and I'm sure it is simple. Heck, if I could open the hood on another 77 Toro I could probably figure it out pretty quickly, it's one wire!!


Thanks again.

 

welcome to the forum .

greetz from belgium

marc

 

Welcome to CO , what you need is the wiring schematic so you can find where the wire goes from the rad. Got to be somewhere in the harness , maybe broke off a connecter or just pulled out , but it would be helpfull to see where it should go into the harness so you can track the other end.

 

Post some picture when you get a chance so we can see your new ride.

 

Here is a little look

 

This is too much work. I have power buffed it four times starting with medium cut and bringing it to wax. It shines pretty well and I've got it smelling nice inside......but it is still cold, putting in a heater core today!

 

very nice, like the tan interior, almost a twin to my 76

 

Very nice car!!!!

 

Lookin' good!

BTW, are those white wall tires made by Diamonback?

 

Those white wall tires are made by me...Any tires that have either a white stripe or white lettering have a 3" strip of white rubber layered under the thin black outer layer.
There are now very few tires made that are 235/75/15 that are not suv tires, and even fewer that have white walls. The best deal I found was at Pep Boys in a Cornell 1000 @ $58 each. I brought them home and used an angle grinder with a wire wheel to shave out the full sidewall.

It's pretty messy but the results are obvious. You can do this with older tires, but for less than $250 total I'm ridin on butter .

 

Thanks, your wagon is where it's at!!

 

WOW! That would be worth trying on a cheap set of tires. If you look close at your tires can you still see the grinding marks from the wire wheel, or did you sand it smooth?

 

I took it down to 36 grit with an air sander, but I'll probably get it smoother as it gets nicer out(this is a lot easier job when it's not -4 I can do it out of doors).

 

It has been a bit cold in our region lately. I sanded a bit on the hood of the 71 last week but haven't worked on it since. I did get a chance to drive my 71 98 on Monday though. I took the wife and my daughter out to eat while the water was turned off in our neighborhood. It ran like a champ! Keep us posted on those whitewalls.

 

Matt, I just saw your car for sale on the OKC craigslist.

You aren't trying to sell it are you? Perhaps the previous owner just forgot to remove it...

http://oklahomacity.craigslist.org/cto/1549570835.html